Weekend Rescues

Police have scaled down
their search for the Auckland man who went missing off a
Northland beach last week.

Alexy Ivanov was last seen
entering the water off Uretiti Beach, south of Whangärei,
about 5pm on Wednesday March 13.

Staff at the local
Department of Conservation Camp Ground alerted Police about
an hour later when they noticed the man's clothes and car
were still there and there was no sign of him.

A search
has been carried out on the water and shoreline since the
man went missing.

The Royal New Zealand Navy was also
brought into to assist using its side scan sonar. The
torpedo-shaped sonar was deployed underwater outside the
surf line and covered an area one kilometre either side of
where the man entered the water.

The Navy completed its
sonar scan on Saturday and nothing was located.

No
searches were carried out on Sunday due to poor weather
conditions.

Police have scaled down the search with a
small number of staff covering the beach area this
morning.

The search for the missing man was part of a busy
weekend for Police search and rescue staff.

It began with
a sea rescue in the early hours of Saturday morning. Police
received a call about 4.30am that a yacht had run onto rocks
at North Cape.The Auckland man, who was sailing the
yacht to Houhora, had abandoned the boat and had set off his
EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon).

The
Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) Electricity Rescue
Helicopter was sent to the area and managed to winch the man
to safety.

Later on Saturday afternoon, about 3.30pm,
Police received another call that a man, who had been
drinking, had fallen at the Mermaid Pools at Matapouri and
broken his ankle. He had been fishing with three other men.
Due to the slippery conditions on the track leading out
from the pools, the man had to be airlifted out by the NEST
Electricity Rescue Helicopter.

About an hour later Police
were alerted to two divers, a man and a woman, who went
missing while diving at the Poor Knight Islands. They had
been diving at the Northern Arch of the islands.The NEST
Electricity Rescue Helicopter was sent to the scene and
spotted the divers' survival sausage balloons. They had been
caught in a strong current and had drifted two kilometres
north of where they entered the water

On Sunday about 2pm
Police were called after a 67-year-old woman broke her ankle
while tramping on the McKenzie Limestone Track at
Springfield, south of Whangärei. The woman had been
tramping with a group of 11 others when she hurt her
ankle.

Police Search and Rescue staff went to the track
and carried the woman out on a stretcher.

Northland Police
Search and Rescue Head Senior Sergeant Clifford Metcalfe
said while it was a busy weekend for staff, many of the
people who needed rescuing had gone out well-equipped.

The
yachtie who ran aground was very well prepared with
emergency gear, including good communication equipment, and
had informed people of where he was sailing.

"The divers
were experienced and had rescue sausages, so we were able to
find them quickly."

Mr Metcalfe also praised the tramping
group for having some form of communication (cellphone) and
being equipped with enough gear for an emergency such as
warm and wet weather clothing and a thermal
blanket.

"Having all the necessary equipment and some form
of communication not only helps us locate people easily, it
also prevents an emergency situation turning into a
tragedy."

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